Exchange Won’t Rate High for Russinov : Basketball: Bulgarian player ended up ineligible. Santa Barbara High had to forfeit seven victories, and coach is being investigated for undue influence.

Things were starting to look up for Teodor Russinov.

A Bulgarian exchange student, he was awarded the chance to study in the United States based on academic merit.

But his ticket was basketball.

For a couple of months, it was just as Russinov had hoped. Through a complicated route, the 6-foot-5 forward joined the Santa Barbara High team and had an immediate impact, scoring 20 points a game.

Now the opportunity Russinov took advantage of is taking advantage of him.

He is no longer playing basketball at Santa Barbara because the CIF Southern Section ruled him ineligible. As a result, the team had to forfeit seven victories he played in. There also is a chance the Dons, the defending Southern Section Division I-A champions, could miss next week’s playoffs.

As a result of his ineligibility, section officials are investigating Coach Bob Purdy for possible use of undue influence because they believe it is no coincidence that Russinov ended up living with and playing for Purdy.

Hanford Rants, the CIF consultant on foreign student exchange programs, explained how an ineligible foreign athlete could play without the Southern Section’s knowledge.

“If (a foreign exchange student and his coach) are at ‘Podunk High School,’ and tell the principal that they are under an approved program, then they are approved automatically,” Rants said. “It’s a matter of trust the whole way. Our schools know the undue influence rule. It’s been on the books forever.”

It appears something got lost in the translation.

Russinov, who lived with his grandparents in Bulgaria, heard about attending school in the United States after speaking with Erwin Roelofs of the Netherlands in a basketball tournament in Greece last summer.

Roelofs, a 6-8 exchange student, started at forward for Santa Barbara last year. He received a scholarship to Bentley College in Waltham, Mass.

Roelofs had nothing but glowing reports of his time at Santa Barbara.

When the opportunity arose, Russinov felt compelled to take advantage of the same opportunity.

Russinov, 18, arrived in Santa Barbara through the Sts. Cyril and Methodius exchange program, a foundation started when Bulgaria was under Communist rule and designed as a way for students to attend American universities.

The problem was that Sts. Cyril and Methodius is not a CIF-approved exchange program. Russinov was declared ineligible by the Southern Section in October because he was not a part of an exchange program recognized by the CIF.

Santa Barbara officials made another request for eligibility in November, and that, too, was denied.

Unaware Sts. Cyril and Methodius was for college students and did not provide medical insurance, Russinov looked for another program to cover insurance needs and make him eligible for basketball. The Pacific Intercultural Exchange (PIE) agreed to help with insurance, but it did not accept Russinov as a member.

Purdy and school officials say they thought Russinov was in the PIE, and he started the season with the team.

The Southern Section office received an anonymous call from a parent at Ventura High in early January questioning Russinov’s eligibility.

Stan Thomas, Southern Section commissioner, looked into the matter and declared Russinov ineligible and told the school it would have to forfeit the games he played. Russinov has not played since Jan. 3 against Ventura.

“Twice before, the school asked for eligibility, and we denied it,” Thomas said. “Then the kid is playing. Our office is definitely going after this.”

Russinov attempted to get a temporary restraining order against the Southern Section on Jan. 16 in Santa Barbara Superior Court, but his request was denied because the judge said he had not exhausted all of his appeals.

An appeal hearing was scheduled for Feb. 5, but Russinov’s attorney, Peter Umoff, requested a delay saying he needed more time to prepare the case. No new date has been set.

In Russinov’s temporary restraining order deposition, Purdy said Thomas told him: “Let’s face it, if he (Teodor) wasn’t living with you, we wouldn’t be sitting here.”

If Russinov does not gain back his eligibility, the Southern Section also might charge Purdy with undue influence. In that case, the team could be barred for the playoffs.

“We no longer deal in personnel matters, but we can sanction the school,” Thomas said. “If there was undue influence, we’d like to prove that before the playoffs start.”

Santa Barbara, which competes in the Channel League, is 6-16 with one week left in the regular season.

Purdy, coach at the school for four years, declined comment on the advice of Umoff. Purdy, a former coach at Santa Maria St. Joseph, is a retired dentist who works in real estate. He is a walk-on coach and does not teach at the school.

Bob Blakeney, assistant principal at Santa Barbara, said when the PIE agreed to insure Russinov, he figured the player was eligible because PIE is a CIF-approved program.

Thomas said a foreign-exchange student cannot arbitrarily change programs for athletic purposes.

Blakeney sees it another way.

“I feel we have an innocent kid here who just was put in an incorrect program,” Blakeney said. “I’m sure he (Teodor) came here with the idea of playing basketball because our school is known for good basketball teams.

“But his country is falling apart, and there’s corruption everywhere,” he said. “Who can blame him for wanting to get out?”

In the meantime, Russinov is looking at other opportunities.

“Staying here and playing college basketball ball is a dream,” Russinov said. “If I can’t play again (at Santa Barbara), I will try to play in some all-star games and hope some coaches like me.”

The recent situation has created a stir in the community.

When Ventura won at Santa Barbara, 77-68, on Jan. 29, there was a second-quarter fight and technical fouls that led to the ejection of Purdy and Santa Barbara player Seth McIver.

Ventura Coach Dan Larson said that Russinov was introduced before the game and Santa Barbara players wore a patch with Russinov’s number 15 on their jerseys.

“I’m just glad it’s over,” Larson said after the game. “It wasn’t fun at all. It was ugly.”

Times prep sports editor Eric Shepard contributed to this story.